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Sadly, there is no longer direct ferry serivve from Naples—though you can hire a private boat. For the rest of the region, though, thre is:
The Sorrento ferry port is called Marina Piccola, down below the clifftop main part of town, reached by Via Luigi de Maio, a road that could be used in the dictionary under the definition of "hairpin turn."
Marina Piccola is bacially a small piazza with some cafes and ticket kiosks at the base of a long, busy cement pier nuzzled by a procession of ferries, hydrofoils, and little orange-topped launches scuttling back and forth to the giant cruise ships than anchor in the deeper waters off the east end of town.
You can walk it from Piazza Tasso in about 10–15 minutes via a series of steep steps and along the road.
You can also grab local bus B or C for the two-minute ride to Marina Piccola from Piazza Tasso in the middle of town. Buses run roughly every 20 minutes.
Just buy your €1 Corso Semplice ticket ahead of time at a newsstand, and be sure you are catching the bus on the portward side of Piazza Tasso, headed left (west) as you are facing the water. (Otherwise, you will spend 15 to 30 minutes trundling through Sorrento and/or its suburbs first before returning to head to the port.)
If you are clsoer to the cliff edge of Sorrento, just head to the Villa Comunale park to ride the elevators down to the swimming piers then turn right and walk a few hundred yards to Marina Piccola.
If you are arriving by train, it is easiest to just walk the stright out of the station, continue straight half block (passing the Amalfi Coast bus mobs) to Corso Italia, turn left, and walk the block-and-a-half to Piazza Tasso to catch the bus. (You'll also have to cross the street to be on the correct side for bus B or C; you want it going in the same direction you've been walking).
However, if you happen to be arriving in Sorrento by ferry and are headed up to the train station, stay on the bus past Piazza Tasso as the bus will drop you off on Corso Italia just below the train station.
(The reason you can't take it to get to the port from the train staiton: it is a circular line thanks to Sorrento's one-way streets, and you would jounrey way out into the suburbs first—though you could hop the B on Corso Italia; though also headed the wrong way, it follows a smaller circuit and would only take about 15–20 minutes to turn back to get to the port.)
The other option is a taxi, though they tend to charge €10–€15.
Planning your time: Sorrento has maybe 2-3 hours of mediocre sightseeing. To be brutally honest it is probably the least interesting town in this area. It is only famous for its location.
Sorrento makes an ideal base for exploring Campania thanks to its location at the nexus of regional public transit—pretty much the only place from which you can get anywhere without having to change mode of transportation: Trains direct to Pompeii and Naples; ferries to Capri; buses or ferries down the Amalfi Coast.
If you prefer the home-base style of travel, Sorrento is the perfect base. Figure on three days/two nights here (hit Pompeii on the train ride down from Naples—you can store your luggage temporarily at the Pompei train station—then spend one day each visiting Capri and the Amalfi Coast).
If, however, you prefer to travel from town to town, just treat Sorrento as a way-station to switch from train to bus or ferry; skip Sorrento entirely and sleep in a more interesting locale on the Amalfi Coast or Capri.
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This article was written by Reid Bramblett and was last updated in May 2015.
All information was accurate at the time.
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